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The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has paid for the full cost of the surgery of the conjoined twins at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital.
The president fulfilled the pledge made by the government some months ago on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, according to a Facebook post by the Director of Communications at Jubilee House, Eugene Arhin.
Through the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, an amount of GH¢14,394,397.58 has been released for the procedure, which is expected to commence in the second week of September.
The funds will cover the “cost of operation and the purchase of surgical equipment”, Mrs. Osei-Opare noted.
“President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, 31st August 2021, fulfilled the pledge made by Government to pay for the full cost of the surgery of the conjoined twins at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital),” the statement said.
“Through the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, Hon. Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, an amount of GHS14,394,397.58 (cost of operation and the purchase of surgical equipment) has been released for the procedure, which is expected to commence in the second week of September.
The government had earlier offered to cover the total cost of surgery to separate four-month-old conjoined twins estimated to be about 3.0 million Ghana cedis (about $508,000).
But the new figures put the President’s commitment GHS11 million more than the initial amount pledged.
The Siamese twins, Lydia and Linda Awui, were born to a 15-year-old girl, Rebecca Bansah, who last month appealed to the public to help raise funds for the procedure.
The appeal caught the attention of ace broadcast journalist and the acting general manager of GHOne TV, Nana Aba Anamoah, who led a campaign to solicit funds to cover the full cost of the surgery.
Last month, Ghanaian Real Estate mogul Nana Kwame Bediako, popularly known as Freedom Jacob Caesar or Cheddar, donated a whopping GHS600,000 towards the course via Mobile Money within three days after reaching out to him.
Additionally, he rented a fully furnished 5-bedroom house for the parents of the twins at North Ridge.
We hope that the surgery will go successfully following all monetary concerns cleared out of the way.